Tim Robbins “Apologizes”

At the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention today, Tim Robbins issued a mock apology to conservative radio talk show hosts for being a "dupe of left wing appeasement" in being opposed to the war in Iraq from the start.

Variety’s William Triplett reports that as the event’s keynoter, Robbins noted that Bill O-Reilly, Sean Hannity and other yakkers "had labeled him traitorous or unpatriotic for having called for more time to be given to U.N. weapons inspectors before deploying military force against Iraq."

“They said I was a dupe of left wing appeasement…. and how right they were,” Robbins quipped. “Had I known then of all the smiling faces” that now populate Iraq, “the wildfire of democracy that is spreading throughout the Middle East,” he would have not spoken as he did, he said.

There were laughs, but things got a bit uncomfortable when he also made fun of the relaxation of the media ownership rules — which NAB members support — as well as the state of news coverage.

He had a three-pronged, albeit mocking, proposal.

“First, erase all diversity,” he said. “You only need two opinions. Second, stay focused on sex scandals. We don’t want any kind of reporting outside the sound-byte. I don’t know about you, but show me a drunk starlet getting out of a car with no panties on, and I think the world is a better place. Third, more distraction. The economy sucks? Chaos in Iraq? It is a moral responsibility to distract.”